The return of Mohammed Shami was the biggest news that came out of the BCCI selection meeting for the India vs England five-T20I series that starts on January 22. Also, Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in the Perth and Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been rested for the forthcoming series against the Three Lions. But there were some other surprises too.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Men in Blue in the five-match series, while, spinner Axar Patel will be the deputy of the 34-year-old. Hardik Pandya is in the squad but he has been ignored.
Youngsters Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel have retained their place in the 20-over squad. Seamer Harshit Rana who was in the T20I squad against South Africa but couldn’t make it into the playing eleven has also been named in the 15-member lineup for the upcoming series.
One of the main talking points will be Shami’s inclusion in the Men in Blue squad. The 34-year-old seamer will be donning the blue jersey after 2023.
Last year, Shami returned to domestic cricket with Bengal after undergoing ankle surgery that kept him sidelined for nearly a year. Shami had also been a part of Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shami had made an impressive comeback to competitive cricket, having last featured in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. Following ankle surgery and overcoming a series of setbacks, he returned to action for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in November.
Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami will be leading the Indian seam armoury.
While, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar will be in charge of the spin attack.
The five-match T20I series will kick off on January 22 in Kolkata. The second and third matches will be held on January 25 and 28 in Chennai and Rajkot, respectively. The fourth game of the series will be played on January 31 in Pune. Mumbai will host the final match of the T20I series on February 2.
India’s squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (VC), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK).
With ANI inputs
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